ok well so I have heard alot them and I still dont know/get what they are should I add one? my pond roughly 1000 glaons and I am switching to an external pump how big would it need to be?
ok well so I have heard alot them and I still dont know/get what they are should I add one? my pond roughly 1000 glaons and I am switching to an external pump how big would it need to be?
Well I messed that one up
BULKHEAD Y U NO WORK
Music Makes Life Kenny Chesney Zac Brow Skrilex Enimem
Km most will say a SC should be 10% of your pond volume. Of course the bigger the better as this will allow more time for solids to settle.
well ok that good for size but what is it really and how would I tie it into my filter sytem how do you hide it?
Well I messed that one up
BULKHEAD Y U NO WORK
Music Makes Life Kenny Chesney Zac Brow Skrilex Enimem
In its simplest form it's a gravity fed container large enough to get a 10% turnover rate (or dwell), so a pump flow of 1000 gph would need
a container of 100 gallons to reach a 10% rate.
At that slow rate, the sinking debris will fall to the bottom of the container and not be sent to the next filter or the pump where it would be ground into smaller,
harder to remove, particles. Then the debris is flushed from the settling chamber via an outlet at the bottom, or via a sub pump, etc.
And because they're gravity fed, they're set so the top of the container is just a couple of inches above the water level of the pond, so they're often
sunken below ground in a filter "pit" and covered to be out of site.
I have to say, my first pond was about your size. I used a 60 gallon Pickle barrel (black barrel w/tapered top) and had a 5 gallon bucket inside that I used as a pre-filter. I believe my pump was a ES2500 at the time. I had my skimmer line tied into it just before the pump. Worked like a charm. After the pump I had a s/g filter. Crystal clear water.
Black barrels suck as you can't see in them as easily.
Jerry
Opportunity is missed by most people because it is dressed in overalls and looks like work.
- Thomas A. Edison
Do they have to be gravity fed or not and how would I install a bottom drain with the pond filled does evene a retro fit bd need to go through the liner or can it go over the top with a check value my only thing is that the deep Enid of my pond isn't all that big like 4 foot by 4 foot so I would need a really small bd and also is there any way to draw water fromanexterna pump besides a bd I plan to use a pool skimmer with it but I also want water suction from the bottom and also for GPRS can they just be bulk heads through the liner or are they something specail or can they just be pipes buried along the edge that flow into the pond so no cutting the liner. Tanks Shawn
Well I messed that one up
BULKHEAD Y U NO WORK
Music Makes Life Kenny Chesney Zac Brow Skrilex Enimem
Yes, SC has to be gravity fed.
You can retrofit a bottom drain but I don't think it will work to feed a SC if you go up over the side of the pond. If it does work, it won't work well. If your going to have to cut a hole, might as well be for a bottom drain.
Jerry
Opportunity is missed by most people because it is dressed in overalls and looks like work.
- Thomas A. Edison
ok still though my problem is that do I really need a bottom drain? how would I get to the bottom to instal one becuase it needs to be concrteed in and also is a sc the only type of pre filtration becuase it seems kinda hard to hide a sc and what would I make one of of becuase to make one out of liner would need al least a 10x10 and still I dont really have a place for my sc I really want an external pump though here was my plan for my new filter sytem. I was going to draw water from 2 location 1 would be a pool skimmer and one would be a intake from the bottom some how then through the pump and into a manifold. one would go to my watefall. one would go my sand and gravle filter and would go to a bakki shower and one more would go to a foam franc tell me what you think of the idea and the pump would be a es seires 3500 gph.
Well I messed that one up
BULKHEAD Y U NO WORK
Music Makes Life Kenny Chesney Zac Brow Skrilex Enimem
In my humble opinion, yes, you need a bottom drain. And no, the SC doesn't have to be 10 x 10. The size has nothing to do with the size of your pond, it has to do with
your pump flow, like I posted. And like Jerry posted, you can push the 10% of pump flow by adding a prefilter. A simple 55 gallon barrel with a prefilter will flow 2000 gph
fine and do an adequate job of separating solids.
The first hurdle you need to get over is cutting your liner... until you're ready to do this, the rest is really a mute point.
You don't need to get to the bottom of the liner to cut it... make a retro drain and go through the side of the pond to your SC. Then
tee your skimmer into the line just before the pump. Flow 2000gph from the BD, and 1500gph from the skimmer to your ES3500... then
you could flow 2000gph to the s/g filter, and the rest to a trickle tower if you want. I run my foam fractionator with another pump in the
top of my s/g filter... but all 3 running from a single ES3500 is spreading that flow too thin... you really don't need to do all that for a 1000 gallon pond, imo.
Here's a simple drawing of the plumbing with a BD and skimmer to a SC/prefilter and a s/g filter.
But again, for any gravity flow container to work consistently, you'll have to break down and cut the liner.
I've had pretty good luck using these with some PL sealant for going through the liner.
Photo courtesy of Water Arts Consulting. (WAC) Somewhere Birdman has a tutorial for installing a bottom drain through a liner. I used his process for all my returns and bottom drains and skimmers. No problems. I will say that you need to keep the flange from moving by setting it in a little concrete.
Jerry
Opportunity is missed by most people because it is dressed in overalls and looks like work.
- Thomas A. Edison
Or one of these: https://www.koiphen.com/forums/showth...mple-pipe-boot
I did a 3" pipe for my no-niche skimmer this way...
ok well here the thing my pond is dug kinda in shelves and not striaghit down like it should be. it was becuase I wanted plants and not just fish so I have to work around that and the other thing is that I only have about 4sq ft of deep bottom sa and where would I cut the liner look at this drwaing that I made to show you how my pond is made. its a cross section and the second one would be my filter circut wich I would be planing.
Well I messed that one up
BULKHEAD Y U NO WORK
Music Makes Life Kenny Chesney Zac Brow Skrilex Enimem
I apologize if it's already been said, if you don't have a bottom drain then the pond is acting like one giant settlement chamber.
By moving it via a settlement chamber to a location outside of the pond it gives you the ability to remove most of the waste that is heavier than water, hence settlement. This is much healthier for the koi and easier to maintain than vacuuming out the pond to do it.
Settlement is a form of mechanical filtration. Mechanical filtration provides next to no bio filtration but it is a vital part of a healthy system on a pond. If particulates and waste aren't removed prior to bio filtration it increases the maintenance on the bio filter and the likelihood of fish illness.
This paper talks about what we call settlement chambers:
http://integrated-aqua.com/wordpress...Whitepaper.pdf
let me try to repost the photos again ok I think I have them and here is what they are the filter one is for when I come back from camp I plan to get that all rigged up the only thing with my pond is that it is two ponds with a passage way for the fish to swim through the second pond is where my water fall is and provides all the airation that is needed for the pond the ohter one is a cross section of the pond to show where all the shelevs are. so tell me where you think the bd would work best and if I should have 2 bds.
thanks shawn
Well I messed that one up
BULKHEAD Y U NO WORK
Music Makes Life Kenny Chesney Zac Brow Skrilex Enimem
ok well can someone comment on my filter plan so I can get it squared away before I go to camp on the 22nd
Well I messed that one up
BULKHEAD Y U NO WORK
Music Makes Life Kenny Chesney Zac Brow Skrilex Enimem
With that many shelves, it won't be perfect, but I'd put a BD at the lowest point:
And where you have the SC in the drawing is perfect... it's kind of hard to tell where
the tpr's will be in relation to the shelves, but I'd try and put them pointed parallel
across the other shelves floor if possible... you'll probably still have to do a little
manual sweeping of debris that doesn't flow to the very bottom where the BD is, but
the fish should help some, and it'll be a big improvement to no BD at all.
A second BD would be nice, but with the pond being only 1000g, iirc, you just don't have
enough flow to warrant two imho, so I'd just stick with the one at the lowest point.
I think you're making some real improvements on your pond and it'll go a long way to
getting you to better water quality!